Sky has brought its Go app to some Android devices - it's key to the future of
television, but not yet for all says Matt Warman.

Tablets and phones are fundamentally changing the way broadcaster Sky does business, and its many excellent applications demonstrate how seriously it takes the new model. Its technology is allowing users to take their subscriptions with them, and flagship Sky Go is well established on Apple’s iOS. Indeed, its success on that platform is testament to the dominance of the Apple among other manufacturers.

Users are able to watch the major Sky channels on a tablet or mobile phone thanks to their subscription, or they can buy a separate, mobile only package. Whichever, setting the channels free from a single TV set is clearly progress.

But the launch for Android is an important moment, indicating the growing importance of a platform that now accounts for more than half of all sales in the UK.

Unfortunately, Sky Go is available on just a small number of devices – the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Desire are among the most popular, however, and Sky says it's working on more versions. As it is, while these phones are a reasonable share of the market, Sky has yet to offer a universal service for Android.

For those that do have the right handset, however, Sky Go is an excellent, straightforward app. Although it lacks movies on demand, Sky Sports, Sky News, Sky Movies, Sky Atlantic, and Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts 1 are all available. Using the app itself is straightforward – press a channel and it asks you to watch it now, view TV listings or see programme details. Whatever channels you subscribe to are the ones available on the app. The interface is as simple and crisp as the best on Android, and perhaps more importantly it’s genuinely as good as the Apple equivalent.

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So while the Sky Go platform looks as lovely on Android as it does on iOS, it would be silly to praise the new release for bringing the software to every Android handset. Movies and programmes play smoothly, while menus are intuitive – but in truth Sky Go for Android brings streaming to a small proportion of devices, albeit they make up a massive proportion of users. It is a case study in Android fragmentation, albeit a boon to owners of the few supported devices. In time, however, it will surely be widespread, and today's complaints about limited availability will be seen simply for the teething trouble it is.